Student Spotlight: Joanna Wu

There is a time in most people's lives when they dream of being famous musicians or performers. Joanna Wu gives up her dreaming time to work toward her music dreams. She typically only sleeps about three to five hours each night. Six hours of sleep is lucky for Wu. Why? Wu gives up all her time to music. And schoolwork. But mostly music.

Wu has been actively involved in music ever since she was 5 years old, when she started taking piano lessons. In the fourth grade, she started playing the flute. She's been playing ever since. "I seemed to become more interested in music as I was beginning to learn how to improve my playing," she says.

And improve she did. On weekdays, Wu practices about 30 minutes to an hour each day, which she considers "an extremely short amount of time." On the weekends she practices even longer.

What does Wu need to practice for? A lot. Wu is part of concert band (and also is the president), concert choir, woodwind quintet, flute ensemble and pep band. And that's just for school. Outside of school, Wu has been the principal flutist of the Syracuse Symphony Youth Orchestra for the past three years. She's also part of "Flutessence," a flute choir that performs in concerts throughout the community. She has also participated in the NYSSMA solo festivals, All-County festivals, and piano and instrumental competitions each year.

And then there's her band, Crimson Action. Crimson Action is composed of J-DHS seniors Andrea Canale, Kathryn Hu, Jennifer Legaspi, Gleydis Merino, and of course Wu. Wu plays keyboard and sings in the band. Crimson Action performed at J-D Day last year, the National Spanish/French Honor Society Induction this year, Hoops for Haiti, and the International Music Festival at Syracuse University.

Wu's proudest accomplishments have involved music. She was chosen as the first chair flutist of the All-State Symphonic Band and played piano with the All-State Wind Ensemble. She also performed in the All-State Piano Showcase and was one of the top 11 students in New York State chosen to perform in the showcase. Also, during her freshman year, she had the opportunity to perform with Sir James Galway, a world-famous flutist, after his concert with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. Wu states that both of these events were "life-changing experiences," because of the opportunity to play with such fabulous musicians and learn from them. The events were things that Wu never expected to happen to her.

Speaking of life-changing experiences, Wu is going to be majoring in music performance in college. She has applied to Ivy League colleges with excellent music programs. Most schools Wu will have to audition for, which makes acceptance even harder. Wu says, "The acceptance rates of many of the colleges I am applying are even lower than those of the highest ranked schools in the nation." Wu says that she has "heard of a school that selects only two flutists out of the 500 that apply, which is a .4% acceptance rate." Wu is undaunted however as she hopes to continue playing music in college and pursue a career as a musician. She is optimistic that there is nowhere to go but up.

Yet, there's more to Wu than just music. She's also an excellent student. Just look at her list of honors and AP classes: AP Music Theory, AP English Language, AP Spanish, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP World History, AP United States History, AP Calculus, Earth Science Honors, English 10 Honors, Spanish II Honors, Spanish III Honors, Spanish IV Honors, Geometry Honors, Algebra II Honors, and Pre-Calculus Honors. Along with those classes, Wu is an officer of National Spanish Honor Society and Science Olympiad.

Wu is also involved in athletics. She has played on the Varsity Girls' Tennis Team all throughout high school.

All of these activities are "very stressful," Wu says. "I try to balance academics, music, and sports and excel in each of them at the same exact time. It is extremely difficult, but I have pulled it off for the past three and a half years of high school," she says.
Wu admits that her schedule is "pretty hectic."

Wu almost always has a rehearsal, lesson, or a concert after school, which causes her to get home late in the evening with a pile of AP homework awaiting her.

Though Wu barely has any free time, even when she does, she gravitates back towards music. She listens to music online, particularly the music that she is playing in a certain group at the time. For example, she listens to orchestra repertoire that she may be playing with SSYO." Or she'll teach herself to play more instruments, like the oboe and string bass. Wu also volunteers, reads, and spends time with her family.

Wu has worked hard to fulfill her design to be a musician. After all, she was born with "perfect" pitch.